I spend a lot of time writing feel-good, nostalgia-filled articles that sometimes border on viewing our home with rose-tinted glasses. While all of those things are true, every time I mention favorite restaurants, fishing spots, or camping spots; I mean what I say. Tri-Cities is generally a nice place to live. But it's totally fine if not everyone feels that way.

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Some of us didn't make the decision to live here, and for those of us, Tri-Cities can seem a little "meh." Whether it's a genuine concern or a classic case of "greener grass," we'd be kidding ourselves if we believed everyone loves it here. So what are some reasons that would cause someone to want to move away from the Tri-Cities?

It feels too old.

Pete Christensen
Pete Christensen
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It could just be me, but Tri-Cities seems to cater to and be enjoyed more by the older crowd. That's not to say that Tri-Cities isn't full of vibrant youth, however. According to statistics from TRIDEC, over 42,000 of Tri-Citians were ages 65 and older. That's over 13% of the metropolitan area, which sounds like a lot. But just under 41,000 Tri-Citians were in their twenties and an additional 42,815 of them were in their thirties. What does that mean? Well, first of all, Tri-Cities is huge and offers a sizeable sample size. It also seems to indicate an overwhelming majority of younger folks living in the Tri-Cities. While there are certainly local attractions for the younger crowd, the big-ticket events lean more on the classic side, although that's not to say it will stay that way.

There's not much diversity in the nightlife.

Jazmine Haney
Jazmine Haney
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This one is very true in my book, even if I'm not the person deemed most likely to go out on the weekend. Just going back a decade to the days when I went out more, things have changed. We lost the Rock Reactor, Ray's Golden Lion (which is supposed to re-open in the summer of 2023), and the various incarnations of Jack Diddly's. Not to mention Jackson's Sports Bar turning into a nightclub, closing again, then reverting back to a sports bar under new ownership. I like sports bars just fine but you can kind of see where this is going. There has been a new spot that has opened up on George Washington Way, and it's nice but the history of cool businesses closing their doors in that space makes me nervous.

There's not much character in the town or its history.

Pete Christensen
Pete Christensen
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This one is pretty trivial at the end of the day, I think. But Tri-Cities doesn't really have many iconic spots. Sure you and I will instantly know what "the Fingernail" is but it doesn't ring quite like Pike Place Market or Broadway. Even Spokane has its iconic River Park Square. We do have the Uptown, Edgar Brown Stadium, and other historic attractions.

Tri-Cities is huge and continues to grow at breakneck speed.

Meagan Murray
Meagan Murray
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This is probably going to be a pretty cold take at this point but Tri-Cities may be growing too fast. Housing prices are insane, the highways bleed traffic into the offramps and neighborhood streets. Oh, and by the way, our bridges weren't necessarily designed to take on the kind of workload it must be to handle nearly all of Tri-Cities' traffic. There is hardly a quiet road in Tri-Cities at 5:00. Think of it this way, your legs are ballooning and you're not wearing stretchy pants.

Drugs, crime, and the list of areas to avoid in Tri-Cities grows.

Maegan Murray
Maegan Murray
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It was either the drugs and crime or the traffic that everyone would crown the worst part of living in Tri-Cities. For me, it's all of it. The egregious time I've lost spending in traffic gave me that much more time to watch the Tri-Cities' weird stuff. I don't feel unsafe from violence as much as unsafe from the weirdness. It's not pretty. The list of places I won't go in Tri-Cities is continuing to grow. I mean, just think of that beaver in Columbia Park. The charges were dropped but not because he didn't do it. But the point is that the crazy news stories have started to feel normal and nobody likes that. Right? We can all agree on that much. In closing, I love Tri-Cities, even if I think there is still much work that needs to be put in to make it all work.

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